LIVERMORE, Calif. --
Not so long ago, the Livermore Valley
was known as a bucolic place where
people were practically outnumbered by
cattle and vineyards.

Things have changed
in the last several years, however. The
BART line now reaches Pleasanton. The
spillover from nearby Silicon Valley and
San Francisco is evident, as high-priced
houses and business parks displace
agricultural land on both sides of
Highway 580.

But one 100-acre
parcel less than a mile southeast of the
Livermore city limits will remain in
agricultural or open-space use forever.
Using a $741,000 grant from the
California Department of Conservation
and a like amount of its own money, the
South Livermore Valley Agricultural Land
Trust has purchased a permanent
agricultural conservation easement on a
portion of Beyer's Ranch, owned by the
wine-making Wente family. While the
development rights are extinguished,
control of agricultural-related uses
remains in the family's hands.

Phil Wente, executive
vice present of Wente Vineyards, said
the Beyer's Ranch easement in an example
that other landowners and local
governments should follow.

"There are tens of
thousands of acres in the Bay Area that
are ideal for intensive agricultural
production," he noted. "This area is a
Garden of Eden where a wide range of
high-value agricultural products will
flourish. Using the economic resources
of urban areas to create incentives,
such as conservation easements, for land
owners to return to active agriculture
and solidify the urban limits is simply
smart planning."

California's
agricultural production totaled nearly
$26.7 billion in 1999. But the state's
population of more than 33 million is
expected to grow to 50 million by 2025,
and many acres of farmland are being
developed to accommodate that growth.
According to DOC's Farmland Mapping and
Monitoring Program, nearly 43,000 acres
of agricultural land -- an area about
the size of the city of Modesto -- was
urbanized between 1996 and 1998.

"This acquisition
preserves one of the largest remaining
blocks of cultivated agricultural land
in the valley," said John Norwood,
executive director of the South
Livermore Valley Agricultural Land
Trust. "Beyond that, it's extremely
important to the tri-valley area because
it signals that the state is willing to
support agriculture even in some of our
highest-growth counties, where
agriculture, open space and habitat
resources are severely threatened."

The development
pressure on Beyer's Ranch is evident. A
nearby 150-acre parcel of prime farmland
was recently approved for the
development of 450 single-family homes.
Huge estate homes overlook Beyer's Ranch
from adjacent hillsides. According to
the land trust, the opportunities to
create permanent agricultural
conservation easements on parcels of
land the size of Beyer's Ranch are rare
because of soaring property values in
the area.

"We hope that other
landowners in Alameda County and around
the state will follow the Wentes'
example and recognize the tremendous
opportunity that our grant program
presents," Department of Conservation
Director Darryl Young said.

"The needs of a
growing population and the needs of
agriculture don't always dovetail, but
the California Farmland Conservancy
Program offers a partnership between
landowners, land trusts and government
agencies that helps to balance the needs
of both sides. We're pleased to have
preserved an outstanding piece of
agricultural land for future
generations."

The CFCP is designed
to ensure that the state's most valuable
farmland will not be developed. Through
the program, local governments and
non-profit organizations can receive
grants to purchase conservation
easements from willing landowners, thus
creating permanent conservation. CFCP
funds remain for new grant proposals.
Landowners and land trusts are
encouraged to contact the Department of
Conservation/Division of Land Resource
Protection for information on the
program and potential grant funding. The
division's Web address is
www.conservation.ca.gov/dlrp.

The Wente family also
conveyed a 262-acre easement to the
South Livermore Valley Agricultural Land
Trust adjacent to the 100-acre parcel.
Development on the larger parcel is
restricted to current zoning rules under
the south Livermore Valley Area Plan,
eliminating the potential for a
high-density project in the future. The
easement also provides a 5,000-foot long
trail corridor and scenic vistas along
the south side of Tesla Road, which is
the eastern gateway to the South
Livermore Valley.